The Love Letter
by Kishiro Kitsune
Summary: If there was one day of the year Pidge hated more than any other, it was Valentines Day. Too bad Keith didn't get that memo until too late.
1. Yours Truly

1\. Yours Truly

Pidge glared at the letter in her hands, as if willing it to spontaneously combust from the heat of her eyes alone. Lance wearily watched her from the other side of the table they'd commandeered for lunch, unsure if he should ask her what was wrong, or just wait until she told him. One would lead to her yelling at him and the other... would probably also lead to her yelling at him.

He slowly leaned back to sneakily take a look around, praying Hunk would show up with their food soon and save him from death by tiny, angry friend.

Lance would really like to live, please and thank you.

He fought not to smile and wave his arms when he spotted his boyfriend making his way towards them, carrying two trays of food. Any sudden movement could be the thing that made Pidge snap. Unless, of course, you were Hunk, who was the only person in the universe who was immune to her fury. (Probably because it was impossible to be mean to him without feeling like a horrible human being immediately afterward.)

Hunk slowed down as he approached and when he reached them, he gently put down one tray and then the other before sitting down next to Lance. "Is Pidge okay?" he quietly asked.

Lance shrugged. "I haven't asked yet," he whispered back.

"I can hear you," Pidge grumbled, tossing the letter down on the table for her friends to see.

Hunk peered at it closely. "Is that..."

"A love letter?" Lance finished, looking to Pidge in concern. All at once, her anger made sense to him.

While he hadn't met her until their final year of high school and had never seen first hand the sort of torment her classmates put her through, he'd heard stories of the young girl genius who didn't quite fit in and the "pranks" her peers had played on her.

"You can read it. I don't care," Pidge muttered, reaching for the food Hunk brought for her. "It's just another stupid joke. Someone left it on the windshield of my car."

Lance carefully picked up the letter, scanning over it quickly. It seemed like a pretty standard love note. Maybe not as flowery as some of the ones he'd exchanged with Hunk, but it was sweet. The end was simply signed:

 _Yours Truly,_

 _K_

"Aww, that's cute!" Hunk said, leaning over to read along with Lance. "You've got a secret admirer, Pidge!"

"It's _not_ cute," Pidge snapped, jerking the letter out of Lance's hand. "Some jackass found out what car I drive and wrote this stupid letter, just to mess with me on Valentines Day. It's nothing more than a joke."

Hunk watched, stricken, as she crumbled up the paper and stuffed it deep into her bag, where it was likely to be fully destroyed later. "Pidge..."

She refused to say anything more on the subject, focusing on her food instead. Lance picked up on her less-than-subtle cue and changed the topic to classes, nudging Hunk into going along with it. He'd explain what he knew later.

* * *

Writing that letter had been one of the most nerve-wracking things he'd ever done. He'd spent _weeks_ agonizing over the exact wording and then discovered he had a bigger dilemma: how to give her the letter.

He could have asked someone to deliver it to her or sent it through the mail, but that felt... wrong. And he didn't really want anyone else involved. The very thought of personally handing it to her made him want to call the whole thing off, as it made his heart race in a way that was unfamiliar and uncomfortable to him.

In the end, the best way Keith could think of was to tuck it under a windshield wiper on her car, where she would be sure to see it.

He knew it was cowardly.

He knew it could go utterly, horribly not in his favor.

But it felt... safe.

Confessing to her in person would mean that she would know how he felt about her. It could ruin their friendship. The letter gave him a safety net. If she rejected it, she wasn't rejecting him. He could live with only being friends.

And if she accepted...

Hope fluttered to life in his chest.


	2. Candy

2\. Candy

The longer the day went on, the more tense Pidge got. She couldn't focus on anything except that stupid letter, no matter how much she swore she wouldn't let it get to her. She could feel Lance's worried gaze on her whenever they were in the same room together and knew he wanted to talk, but she couldn't.

Lance wouldn't understand.

No one did.

She never thought she'd find herself reliving her nightmares. She thought for sure that moving on to college meant not having to deal with juvenile pranks on a regular basis.

Pidge struggled through her classes, unable to focus, and found herself eager to reach the end of each one. She just needed to get away. She needed time to think. To be by herself. But as much as she wanted to flee the campus the moment she got out of her last class, there was one more thing she needed to do.

She hurried to the library, seeking out a particular table tucked away in the back corner near a window overlooking the campus arboretum. Sitting at the table, head bowed as he poured over a textbook, was her friend and favorite study-buddy, Keith. She slowed as she approached, taking a moment to appreciate the way the sunlight hit his black hair, which was pulled back into a stubby ponytail at the base of his neck. His mouth was twisted down into a frown as he tried to understand whatever it was he was reading.

He groaned and lifted his head up, taking a quick glance around. When he spotted her, his frown melted away, replaced by a sweet smile.

Pidge tried to ignore the way her heart seemed to skip a beat.

Maybe she would stay for a little while.

"Hey," he greeted as she walked closer.

Pidge swung her bag down from one shoulder, preparing to set it next to her usual chair. "Hi," she replied, offering him her own smile as she sat down.

From there, their study session proceeded as usual, with Keith asking her to explain a technical detail every now and then and Pidge requesting help with proofreading on her current essay. With him, it was easy to forget about the letter. They were immersed in their own world; nothing outside of their corner of the library existed to them so long as they were there together.

Until Keith bent down and took a small box of Valentines candy from his bag and put it on the table for them to share.

Pidge stared at it, feeling as though she'd been doused with freezing water. All of her stresses of the day came rushing back, the memory of the letter crushed at the bottom of her bag screaming for her attention. She clutched her pencil hard.

"Pidge?" Keith asked, concerned. He glanced from the candy on the table, to the pinched expression on her face and wondered if there was something he'd forgotten. Was she allergic? Had she expressed her hatred of the candies to him before and he'd somehow forgotten? Did-?

"I got a love letter today."

Keith went still, all of the air knocked from his lungs.

 _How did she find out it was me?_

Pidge breathed in shakily, staring down at her clenched hands as she rested them on the tabletop. "You know in all of those stupid teenage movies, the ones where the so-called ugly nerd girl likes the pretty popular boy and gets a makeover for the school dance and is suddenly desirable? And he does everything he can, like leaving 'romantic' notes in her locker or whatever until she decides he isn't such a bad guy and then they date? That... was never my high school experience. I was the nerd girl who was teased for being too smart and I did get love letters left for me, but they were all part of a joke. A joke I stupidly believed for three months until I learned the truth."

Keith's gut twisted guiltily as he watched a single tear slide down her cheek. If he'd known the misery he'd cause her from his letter, he never would have written it. He never would have left it for her to find. (He never would have confessed his feelings, period, keeping them bottled up deep deep inside forever.)

"I'm sorry," Pidge apologized, standing up. Her hands trembled as she gathered her things. "I can't. I-"

Without realizing what he was doing, Keith reached out and gently grabbed her hand, steadying her and keeping her from running away. "Whoever did that to you, is an idiot. You're an incredible person, Katie. Anyone would be lucky to have you as their girlfriend." He could feel his cheeks heating up as his brain caught up with his mouth, but the damage was done.

Pidge blinked back more tears, tugging her hand from his grasp.

And then she was gone.


	3. Love Song

I stayed up later than I should have to get this finished, but it's finally done!  
It's late, I know.

3\. Love Song

Keith slowly walked through the halls. The image of Pidge staring at him, her big brown eyes filled with tears, was seared into his brain.

He had to do something to make it right. He couldn't let her go on believing that there was no one who could fall in love with her. It was time to stop allowing his fears to rule him. He had to tell her the truth, even if it meant she never wanted to see or speak to him again. (The thought of that happening made his chest tighten as though something had reached inside and tightly squeezed.)

He just had to figure out how.

Keith was going to need a little help with that, which meant swallowing his pride and asking for it. And unfortunately, he knew just who would be the best person to help him.

He found Lance lounging on one of the cheap but comfortable couches with his head resting in Hunk's lap. The two were quietly talking as Keith approached and he cleared his throat to get their attention.

Lance peered up at him curiously, one eyebrow raised. "Something we can help you with, Mullet?"

Keith swallowed thickly, ignoring the part of him that wanted to do nothing more than turn tail and run. He had to be strong for Pidge's sake.

And for his own.

Drawing on every ounce of courage he had, Keith began to explain the whole situation to Lance and Hunk, starting with the letter he wrote for her.

* * *

Pidge felt like she woke up once every hour that night, her restless brain unable to relax for a single minute. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see the earnest expression on Keith's face as he held her hand and told her she was incredible. And in the little bit of time when she was able to sleep, she dreamed that she hadn't run away. That she'd stayed and somehow ended up wrapped in his arms, warm and safe, almost as though they were more than just friends.

She wanted to cry when her alarm cut on, signaling loud and clear that it was time for her to get up and get ready for the day. She moved sluggishly, her whole body heavy as she went about her morning routine. She brushed aside Matt's concern for her, leaving the house before he could start to really worry and ask questions.

The rest of her day went about the same. Time dragged on, she ignored her friends' worried looks, only answered questions from her teachers when they were directed her way, and ate the bare minimum of food to keep her going. All she wanted to do was go back home and collapse in her bed, hopefully to get some _actual_ sleep. Pidge didn't want to think about the fake love letter or about what Keith said to her anymore.

She just wanted to move on.

She sent off a quick text message to Lance, letting him know she was going home for the day so he wouldn't waste time searching for her, and then she began the long walk to her car, which she'd purposefully parked in a different place in hopes of throwing off her newest tormentor.

Pidge's kept her head bowed, her senses stretched thin as she listened for noisy chatter and footsteps and watched for approaching shadows in order to avoid bumping into anyone. It was only when she got near where she parked that she looked up.

Keith was there, hands shoved in his pockets, looking thoroughly uncomfortable as he stood there. His hair was down and was mussed at the back of his neck, as if he'd spent a lot of time tugging his fingers through the longer strands, a nervous habit Pidge knew very well from their study sessions together. He raised his eyes as she slowly approached, but said nothing until she was standing right in front of him.

"Keith?" she asked, unable to keep her exhaustion from coloring her voice. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry," he blurted out. He visibly winced, closed his eyes, and breathed out before opening them again. "What I said yesterday, I meant it. You're one of the most amazing people I've ever known and not just because of how smart you are. You're kind too. And patient. And..." Keith clenched his hands at his sides, struggling to get the words out. "I'm the one who wrote the letter."

Pidge felt the world tilt around her.

Keith had written the letter.

 _Keith_ , her _friend_ , had written a love letter and left it for her to find.

Keith, who she'd developed a tiny, _miniscule_ crush on, liked her back.

It wasn't something she'd prepared for. She wasn't ready. Every part of her screamed to run away, to collect her thoughts, and then respond to what was going on, but there was that one little voice that held her steady.

Running away never helped, it only hurt people.

"Pidge, please say something?" Keith's voice was soft, as if he was afraid speaking any louder would cause her to bolt.

She planted her feet firmly on the ground. "You wrote the letter?" she asked for confirmation, raising her eyes to meet his. "You like me?"

"I did. I do," Keith stumbled over his words. "I like you, Katie. I have for a while. I just didn't know how to tell you and thought writing it down would help, but it didn't. And then I thought... I thought giving you the letter was the right way, but what if it ruined things between us? I'd rather have you as a friend than nothing. So that's why... I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Pidge was at a loss for what to do. She'd never dared to fantasize that he would return her feelings. Was she supposed to admit that she liked him back? Should she hug him? How did other people handle situations like that?

And then she heard it. A quiet melody, slowly growing louder. A very distinctive and familiar love song.

Keith frowned and looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. If he strained his ears, he could make out the sound of a heated argument between Hunk and Lance as they continued their debate over the proper music to use, even after he'd turned down their offer of playing "mood music" during his confession.

Pidge couldn't help it. She giggled at the cross expression on Keith's face, the tension inside of her snapping at long last. She recognized that song at once. It was the same one Lance spent nights playing outside of Hunk's bedroom window, serenading the boy until he laughingly agreed to go on a date. She understood immediately what was happening.

Poor Keith.

Lance really didn't have as great of a grasp on romance as he thought.

"Keith," she murmured, stepping closer to him. She reached out and took his hand. And maybe it was because of the music playing in the background or maybe it was because she was already sure of Keith's feelings, but suddenly she didn't feel so afraid of her own. "I'm glad it's you. I've, um, had a crush on you for a while too."

He stood there, frozen in front of her in wake of her own confession, and then gave her a dazzling smile. His fingers laced together with hers, warm and comfortable.

And for a moment, everything was perfect.

(And then Lance and Hunk fell out of their hiding place, arguing loudly with each other and effectively ruining the mood they'd hoped to cultivate.)


End file.
